More than half of coronavirus cases in Hubei treated with traditional Chinese medicine: official

China has applied Tritional Chinese Medicine in treating more than half of confirmed patients of vel coronavirus infection in country's Hubei province, which is epicentre of epidemic, a senior health official said on Saturday.

death toll in China's vel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has climbed to 1,523 with 143 new fatalities reported mostly from worst-affected Hubei province while confirmed cases jumped to over 66,000.

"Since beginning of outbreak, government has attached importance to both Tritional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western medicine by mobilising strongest scientific research and medical forces in both fields to treat patients," Wang Hesheng, deputy he of China’s National Health Commission, said.

Wang said that TCM has been applied in treating more than half of confirmed patients of vel coronavirus infection in country's Hubei province.

anuncement about use of TCM for COVID-19 patients is significant as virus has standardised cure yet.

TCM universities and hospitals across country have sent 2,220 medical workers to Hubei to help combat epidemic, Wang said.

Chinese government has also approved field trials for experimental US antiviral drug, Remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients.

"TCM has also been used in prevention and control of COVID-19 at community level," Wang said.

He emphasised that China is trying to improve cure rate of patients by coordinating resources of tritional Chinese and Western medicine.

"By coordinating resources of tritional Chinese and Western medicine, we strive to improve cure rate and reduce fatalities by greatest possible amount to effectively safeguard safety and health of people," Wang said.

Jiao Yahui, also a senior official at National Health Commission, said that combination of tritional and western medicines have shown supportive results.

"For severe and critically ill patients, antivirus treatment, toger with treatment combining tritional Chinese and Western medicine and supportive treatments, such as use of ventilator, blood plasma from recovered patients and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), have shown effect," Jiao said.

"Recently, we have been urging doctors to use ECMO at an early st to help restore patients' blood oxygen saturation and reduce fatalities," Jiao ded.

ECMO is a treatment that uses a pump to circulate blood through an artificial lung back into bloodstream.